Whoopi Goldberg Temporarily Out at The View After Testing Positive for Covid-19

The show once again moved back to filming remotely as omicron cases surge in the United States. And, with Whoopi out, Joy Behar took over as moderator for the day -- first explaining their costar's absence.

"Why am I here instead of Whoopi? Well, Whoopi, unfortunately tested positive over the break. But she'll be back probably next week," Behar revealed. "Since she's vaxxed and boosted, her symptoms have been very, very mild. But we're being super cautious here at 'The View.'"

Goldberg isn't the only member of the show whose holidays were marked with Covid cases, as three of her cohosts also shared their personal experiences with the virus over the break. For Sunny Hostin, not only was it the first Christmas since her in-laws died from Covid complications, but she came down with it as well.

"We had a very tough holiday, as everyone knows my father-in-law passed away on December 28 [2020] and my mother-in-law passed away January 1 [2021], and their birthdays were Christmas Eve and Christmas Day," she shared. "It was difficult for my husband, especially, because I too tested positive for Covid right before Christmas. I was isolated, alone, I FaceTimed with my family for Christmas and New Year's. It was extremely difficult."

"My mom also tested positive for Covid. We're all negative now and thank god [her husband] Manny and the kids and my dad were negative," she added. "I'm so thankful I was vaccinated and boosted. I only had cold-like symptoms, but I didn't feel great. It just goes to show you the vaccine and boosters do work and make sure you're not hospitalized for something like this, makes sure you don't die for something like this."

She said it was "a pretty difficult holiday season for the Hostin household," and added that Manny spent Christmas Day at the cemetery without her. "We're on the other side of it now," she concluded, "but it was a very difficult, difficult time for us."

Ana Navarro shared that her father also tested positive for Covid and couldn't celebrate with her family either. Eventually, she added, he tested negative and was able to join them all for New Year's Day.

Sara Haines, meanwhile, "had to quarantine" in her home after her husband tested positive. "I had the kids, we were in KN-95 masks," she added, "We stayed clear and I have tested negative four times. The kids still ask today, 'Can we touch papa? Is he healthy yet?' We did dodge a bit of a bullet there."

While nobody in Behar's home tested positive, she did call off her holiday plans due to the variant surge.

"I was supposed to have a fairly decent sized Christmas party at my house ... and I just canceled the whole thing. We were all very disappointed," she said, before throwing in a dig at you know who. "Unlike Donald Trump, by he way, who had a big party at Mar-a-Lago on New Year's Eve, maskless."